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The Lower Vadraedic (CCW)
Dominated by Sunya and to a lesser extent Makala, the Lower Vadraedic straddles the Old World and the East, and has amassed immense wealth as the sentinels of this most lucrative trade corridor. The states of the Lower Vadraedic were central players in the harrowing Wars against the Gods, and the legacy of those conflicts weighs heavily on their cultural and religious identities. Sankorin Literally “The people of Sankor,” this trading state of the tropics takes up the northern half of the island of Sankor (the southern half occupied by Makala) and has been ruled for most of its history by a board of merchant Directors. While the nation is small, it has had an outsized effect on the world, pioneering trade and joint-stock companies a thousand years back and boasting a twenty-fold diaspora (including a sizable population in Celtheste). Sankorin has been colonized over the years but rarely successfully and never for long, remaining one of the few small island nations to survive as an independent power to the present day. They’ve achieved this mostly through careful diplomacy and by weaponizing their hurricane-prone climate. Their land has never been particularly valuable anyway, always flooding and washing away. So in the low season Sankori cities are tree-houses and rows of grounded ships connected by precarious wooden walkways. Notes: the southern half of Sankor is occupied by Sankut, a Full Mak within the Makalan Empire, with all the rights of any of the central islands. Makala The Azure Dragon of the East, that once dominated trade in the Eastern Shores and turned the tide in the Third War against the Gods, is still a formidable power on the Vadraedic, though much diminished from its former heights. Known for its severe culture, federated institutions, and for leading a maritime renaissance, Makala is the land of warriors, explorers, and assemblies. Like Sunya, its historical rival, Makala is located along the ideal trade route between the Old World and the Eastern Shores. Unlike Sunya, however, Makala is not dominated by one large island. Instead the nation consists of a long archipelago with many medium and small sized islands, all coiling gently into a spiral. The nation of Makala was founded when several of these islands, occupied by different warring Maks, united into one Grand Mak (Makala), and proceeded to consolidate the remaining islands for the next several centuries. When the archipelago was finally one, Makala was fully able to leverage its strategic position in the Vadraedic and skyrocket to power. But the spirit of “many maks into one” remains. While the Tagan is officially the supreme ruler of the islands, each island is fiercely protective of its individual identity and autonomy. In some ways the islands have unified by the efforts of particularly ambitious Tagans: language and coinage, education and transport, naval and mage forces. But when it comes to culture, industry, and governance, each island is an island unto itself. From the jungle republic of Baluo, with their miniature tigers and mountaintop villages to the autocratic, industrial Zokotan which begrudgingly carries much of the nation’s economic weight, Makala’s cultural diversity is both its strength and weakness. The invention of the Makalan lightning ships, for example, which are still the fastest ships in the world, was truly a collaboration between the many maks. And the range of cultures and personalities that went east on these ships certainly helped to garner trade agreements and build numerous ports in numerous conditions and circumstances. But it was infighting and disunity that lost them these very colonies. Since their height, a third of Makala’s ports have been lost through botched military defenses and treacherous plots—no doubt the work of Sunyan operatives exploiting inter-island divisions. Few would say that Makala has completely lost out, though. Its colonies, even when no longer under their control, tend to remain loyal to the Azure Dragon, so they still reap trade benefits. It helps that Makalans built a tolerant empire with a flexible Keaslian religion and rarely waged long campaigns of conquest. The Makalan model of storming or buying individual cities and harbors as trade posts meant that colonies were rarely populated by involuntary subjects. This is true only for the trade colonies, of course. Makala’s punitive colonies stand in stark contrast as anyone that has crossed the Dragon knows. As the saying goes: lose a war with Makala and you will lose your next four generations. Notes: Santagkan is the summer capital, while Nangot is the winter capital. Sunya The Vermilion Bird of the South, which colonized most of the Old World and led the final glorious charge in the Wars against the Gods. For a millennia it was the most powerful or among the most powerful of the human nations, and remains as resplendent and wealthy as ever. Sunya is the very image of imperial might; its palaces, domes, and pavilions ringed with gold, jade, and polished bronze, orchestras and sopranos filling the nights with the symphonies and arias of the great composers—punctuated by fireworks in every shade across the stars. Music is an element of design here, one of the essentials of life followed closely by haute cuisine and acrobatics—all displayed generously in the streets, public shrines, and at the lively indoor carnivals which feature at the center of Sunyan social life. Sunya did not achieve its ascendance through culture alone, however. It has been known for its vast navy and merchant marine, both of which featured the largest and most formidable ships in the world: the “floating cities.” In addition, the nation’s longevity as a great power is largely attributed to its robust financial system and imperial bank, which to this day keeps the human world in a stranglehold. And while neither money nor ships were invented or pioneered by Sunya, it was Sunya who truly modernized and perfected their uses. The transition from coin to bank notes, for example, was a Sunyan idea that transformed the very human concept of currency into a more fluid and exceedingly powerful tool recognized by all of Evinkind. Perhaps the root of Sunyan power, however, is in the facts of its geography. The modern nation consists of several islands located directly east of the Old World, right along the safest and most direct route to the Eastern Shores. And unlike Makala, its historical rival, Sunya has an eponymous main island that is far larger than its ancillaries; the largest island in the Vadraedic according to some measures. The Island of Sunya is blessed with arable land, geographic diversity, and temperate climates, making it not only self-sustaining but agriculturally abundant. Land ownership, therefore, has always dictated the strata of Sunyan society. That is, even the poorest landowners participate in the fanfare of Sunyan culture, as the world knows it. The peasant class? Unrecognizable. Barely more than slaves until recent, blood won reforms. The only thing that ties the classes together is their uniquely Sunyan denomination of Cosmacan religion, the Marisian faith, and even this is practiced and conceived very differently across the landed and landless castes. Notes: Tourbin is the capital and largest city, Beynout is a close second, the older former capital. Carnivals take place in nearly spherical buildings, with dances and feats performed on suspended platforms, wires, ladders, and hanging cloths. Orcey This mid-sized island nation off the coast of Kirana had a brief heyday as a great power before it was summarily swallowed up by the rising Sunyan Empire. Since then, it has essentially become a non-contiguous province of the main island, fully embracing Sunyan rule and maintaining one of Sunya’s most important naval bases. There are elements of culture that have remained distinct, however: Orcey prefers dance to song and subtle theater to the spectacle of circus; intricate, but clean designs as opposed to ornate and dramatic. Regarding their heritage, Orceyans outdo even the Sunyans in their attitude of cultural superiority and despite, or perhaps because of their proximity to the Eastern Shores, no nation is more fearful or vitriolic towards Strangers. Untaras Like many island nations in the Vadraedic, Untaras tried its hand at exploration and conquest and played a role in the Fourth War against the Gods, but its rocky soil and marginal location in the far south meant that it was quickly outdone by Sunya and Makala. Untaras has never been destitute, but it has always been a cold, dark, and difficult place to live. It relies on its volcanic beauty to inspire great poetry and literature and a strong tradition of mage education and technology to create a peaceful and modern society (it leads the world in civil magicians per capita). After years of quietly investing in itself, Untaras is finally being recognized as a nation to watch, invited to join the current circles of power. But Untarans don’t seem interested in war games, instead dedicating themselves to peace as the great races of the world inch closer in contact and perhaps closer to blows.